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Photos by Priscillakittycat, Recipe adapted from The Great Ceviche Book

In previous years the December and January posts for this blog featured winter themes and comfort foods. This year “El Nino” is ruler of the atmosphere and we haven’t had a day of cold weather. Not even a chill in the air. We are in heaven. Last Saturday I went to the beach and toasted in the sun. Yesterday was another beach-worthy day. The temperature on my dashboard display read 87F.

El Nino has kept the fish around, too. The boys went fishing and caught Yellowtail Snapper. Yellowtail is phenomenal and it’s my favorite fish to grill. Yellowtail is also quite tasty in Ceviche. To concoct this recipe I combined a recipe from The Great Ceviche Book with my knowledge of seasonings and spices. Below is a list of the ingredients I used. Peruvians serve ceviche with sweet potatoes, probably because it adds sweetness to the sour.

Pour the lime juice into a medium size bowl and add the fish. Allow the juice to “cook” the fish for about 10 minutes, then add all the other ingredients.

To make the sweet potato, peel and dice 2 sweet potatoes (1/4 inch pieces) and place into a saucepan with 3/4 cup water and 3/4 cup pure maple syrup. Turn on the heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, lower the heat and let simmer for 15 minutes until the sweet potato is softened. (just cooked, not too soft) Drain the sweet potato, keeping the syrup. Allow to cool to room temperature. Combine the syrup and sweet potato again and refrigerate until ready to serve. Drain out the syrup again and serve on the side with the ceviche.

I’m in an Asian kinda mood! This dish is fairly easy to prepare and tastes better than the stuff at restaurants. It is similar to sweet and sour chicken without all the sugar and thick breading. A plug for the book, The Complete Stir-Fry Cookbook, because the instructions are easy to follow and the illustrations are lovely.

Heat the wok until very hot, add 1.5 tbsp of the oil and swirl it around to coat the side. Dip half the chicken into the egg white, then lightly dust with cornflour. Stir-fry over high heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the chicken is golden brown and just cooked. Remove from the wok and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining chicken, then remove all the chicken from the wok.

Reheat the wok, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and stir-fry the sliced onion over high heat for 3-4 minutes, or until slightly softened. Add the capsicum and carrot, and cook, tossing constantly, for 3-4 minutes, or until tender. Stir in the snow peas and cook for 2 minutes.

Increase the heat, add the honey and toss the vegetables until well coated. Return the chicken to the wok and toss until it is heated through and is well coated in the honey. Remove from the heat and season well with salt. Serve immediately, sprinkled with almonds.

New Year’s Eve is fun…until the next morning when your stomach churns and you regret saying yes to the Mexican guest’s offer of a generous shot of tequila, the Brazilian’s offer of cold beer (more than one)…and the compulsory passed around champagne for the countdown and toast.

Laying in bed, I feel thankful for a year of friendship, family, and good health…but also wonder if the night has just ruined my health. Racing thoughts include: “Could this burning feeling in the pit of my stomach be a tequila-induced ulcer that will require emergency care?” Or..”Burp, burp…Is the pain due to a gall bladder that’s about to burst before I can make it to the emergency room for surgery. Should I get up and look in the mirror to see if my skin is yellow?”

I ignore the monkey mind and reason that a good soup is a sure cure. “But where will I get the energy to prepare said soup?” Then I remember that just a few days earlier I made a magnificent Japanese Noodle Soup and there is still some in the fridge. Oh, so soothing. Thank goodness I won’t need that emergency surgery.

Done in about five hours this soup can continue to simmer in the slow cooker up to four hours more without turning mushy. The broth just gets richer.

Cut garlic head half through middle to expose centers of cloves. Place garlic in slow cooker. Trim white parts from green onions, and add white parts to slow cooker along with kombu and ginger. Chop green tops of green onions, and set aside.